Bed rest



Sept. 7, 1948.

w. R. SMITH BED REST Filed May :50, 1945 7 'INVENTOR.

Marren R. 507177? 4 TTORNEY Patnted Sept. 7, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BED REST v Warren Smith, Crown Point, N. Y. Y ApplicationMay 30, 1945, SerialNo. 596,745

15 Claims. (Cl. 151-4327,)

My invention relates to bed rests or supports for invalids and patients who desire to sit up in bed.

Rests of this general character have been proposed but none of them, so far as I am aware, is convenient to use or convenient to store when not in use. It is necessary either to lift the patient or raise him at least to a partial standing position in order to get him into the present types or rest, and they are bulky devices which require a large space for storage.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a device of this character which can be easily assembled around the patient, thus making it entirely unnecessary either to lift or remove him from the bed. Another object is to provide such a device in which it is necessary only to raise the patient to a sitting postur and either swing him around so that his feet project towards the side of the bed or merely to position the rest behind him after he has been raised to a sitting position. Another object is to provide a device in which the various elements may be assembled and secured together into a substantially flat assembly so that the device may be conveniently stored. A further object is to provide a bed rest which may be cheaply constructed and yet which functions emciently and is comfortable to use.

I accomplish these objects by means of the novel combination of elements described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device, with a portion broken away, showing it in position on a bed;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a bed illustrating my device resting against the head of the bed and forming merely a back rest for the patient; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device with the elements thereof assembled and secured together for storage.

Referring to the drawings+- My device, in its broader aspects, comprises three, entirely separate elements which may be put together to form a bottomless, chair-like assembly as illustrated in Fig. 1. There are two side elements, represented generally at I and 2, which are identical except that one is adapted for use on the right hand side and the other for use on the left hand side, Each of these elements comprises essentially an elongated fiat member 3 which is adapted to rest on the surface of the bed and a member 4 which is secured to the member 3 in angular relation thereto and which upstands from the member 3 in a zonesomewhat spaced from the rear end of the elongated member 3. Ordinarily, I prefer to provide each of the elongated members 3 with an arm rest 5 which may be substantially parallel to the member 3 as shown in the drawing. The arm restis secured to the member 3 by means of the upright 6 and also to the upstanding member 4 and serves to brace the latter.

' The other element of my device is a back rest I, here shown as comprising a plurality of slats secured together at the bottom by a cross member ii and at a higher elevation by the cross member 9. The cross member 9 is notched as shown'at l0 and II to fit over the edges of the upstanding members 4. The notches l0 and H are preferably slightly Wider than the thickness of the upstanding members 4 so that clearance is provided whereby the side elements instead of being disposed parallel to each other, as shown in Fig. 1, may be splayed somewhat to accommodate larger patients. The bottom of the back rest I merely rests on the surface of the bed and because it somewhat depresses thesurface of the bed it is prevented from slipping at the bottom. The inclination of the back rest to the vertical may be varied by merely moving the bottom thereof; the notched portions of the cross member -9 slidingin contact with the upstanding members 4. Y

In order to secure the device to the bed a hook i2 is provided near the forward end of each of the members 3. An adjustable strap I 3 having a D- ring I4 secured thereto and which engagesthe hook l2 passes around the side angle l5 of the bed, as shown in Fig. '1.

In operation, the patient is first raised to a sitting position and then swung around so that his feet project'over the side of the bed. The back element 1 is first placed behind the patient, the side arms are then placed in position, the slope of the back rest adjusted, and the forward ends of themembers 3 secured in position by the straps l3. Where the rest is used from day to day the'straps need not be removed from the bed, it being only necessary to slip the D-rings from the hooks 12 in order to remove the rest from the bed.

Where the patient desires merely to sit up in bed the elements may be arranged as shown in Fig.2, Here, the side elements are turned upside down with the hook ends of the members 3 resting against the head of the bed and the free ends of the members 4 resting upon the surface of the bed as shown at It in Fig. 2, The bottom of the back element 1 rests on the surface of the bed and the notches in the cross member 9 engage the edges of the members 4 as shown at 11. The cross member 9 can, of course, slide up and down the members 4 and thus the slope of the back may be adjusted to suit the patient. In order to prevent the hooked ends of the members 3 from marring the head of the bed they are provided with rubber bumpers [8 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

In Fig. 3 I have shown how the side elements may be placed together with the back element 1 between the arm rests and the whole secured together by the two straps. Thus the entire device may be assembled into a fairly fiat package to facilitate the storage thereof.

The members 3 which rest on the surface of the bed form .a comparatively stable support for the side elements. It will be noted that the members 3 extend further than the arms both to the front and to the rear to provide stability and also to permit the side members to be placed at various distances from the edge of the bed.

Without in any way intending to limit my invention to any specific dimensions, a length of 30 inches for the members 3 will be found satisfactory in most instances and a back height of 26 inches will generally be sufiicient.

Flrom the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided an extremely simple structure which has the very special advantage that it may be, so to speak, applied to the patientrather than applying the patient to the device. It is adjustable to accommodate patients of various sizes and to provide a back rest of any desired inclination,

prising a substantially rigid element adapted to.

form a back support with its bottom resting on the surface of a bed, and two elements entirely separate and disconnected from each other and from said back support element adapted to form chair-like side arms; each of said side arm elements having an upstanding member rigidly attached thereto at the back thereof, and said back support element having a transverse member provided with notches therein adapted to engage the upstanding members of said side arm elements to form a chair-like assembly and to slide up and down on said members to vary the inclination of said back support.

2. A device of the character described comprising a substantially rigid element adapted to form a back support with its bottom resting on a bed, and two elements entirely separate and disconnected from each other and from said back support element forming chair-like side arms adapted to rest on said bed at each side of said back support element; said back support element and said side arm elements being provided with slidably interfitting but readily separable portions adapting said elements when interfitted to form a chair-like assembly in which the inclination of said back support may be varied by merely varying the position of the bottom of said back support on said bed.

3. A device of the character described comprising two entirely separate, disconnected side elements each having an arm rest secured to an elongated fiat member adapted to lie on the sur- 4 face of a bed and form a comparatively stable support for said arm rest, and a back element entirely separate and disconnected from said side elements but adapted to be positioned therebetween with the bottom thereof resting on said bed; said side elements and said back element being provided with portions adapted slidably to interflt to form a chair-like assembly in which the inclination of said back element may be varied by merely moving the bottom thereof on said bed.

4. A back support comprising a pair of elongated fiat elements adapted to lie on the surface of a bed in spaced relation to each other; said elements being entirely separate and disconnected; means attached to each of said elements for securing an end thereof adjacent and in substantially fixed relation to an edge of said bed,

an upstanding member rigidly connected to each of said elements adjacent the other end thereof, and a back rest entirely separate from said elements adapted to be simply supported at the bottom thereof on the surface of said bed between said elements and provided with means cooperate ing with said upstanding members to maintain said flat elements in spaced relation to each other and to maintain said back rest in upright position; said means being slidable up and down on said members, whereby the inclination of said back rest may be varied by merely moving the bottom thereof on said bed.

5. A device of the character described comprising three, entirely separate, disconnected elements including an element adapted to form a back support with its bottom resting on the surface of a bed, and a pair of elements adapted to form chair-like side arms when positioned on said bed at each side of said back support element; each of said side arm forming elements having an upstanding member rigidly attached thereto at the back thereof, and said back support being provided with means substantially spaced from the bottom thereof adapted to receive and slidably engage said upstanding members for maintainin said back support in a generally upright position; whereby, the inclination of said back support may be rigidly adjusted by merely changing the position of the bottom of the back support on said bed.

WARREN R. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 340,334 Lilley Apr. 20, 1886 815,190 Marchessault Mar. 13, 1906 885,388 Sickles Apr. 21, 1908 975,906 Taylor Nov. 15, 1910 1,250,086 Borton Dec. 11, 1917 1,274,277 Kiesele July 30, 1918 1,302,155 Grolle Apr. 29, 1919 1,314,857 Connor Sept. 2, 1919 1,452,915 Kennedy Apr. 24, 1923 2,105,336 Smith Jan. 11, 1938 2,257,848 Larkin Oct. 7, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,494 Great Britain Feb. 18, 1895 

